MANAUS, BRAZIL – Researchers at the National Institute of Amazonian Research (Inpa), in Manaus, Amazonas state, are conducting studies on Aedes aegypti with the aim of finding new ways to combat arboviruses transmitted by the mosquito, such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

One of the research lines involves the study of Amazonian plants to determine whether some of them have potential for controlling mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes.

“We seek to verify whether these extracts and essential oils from Amazonian plants do, in fact, play this role. In this way, we can carry out biological control without the use of chemical or synthetic products,” said Dr. Rosemary Roque, a researcher at Inpa.

According to Rosemary, insecticides cause environmental damage, which reinforces the need for new control strategies.
“We also use predators, which are other animals, such as larvae of different insects, that feed on the larvae of the dengue mosquito. This is another biological control strategy, as it does not use synthetic insecticides,” explained the Inpa researcher.

At the institute, there are other studies underway aimed at combating arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti in the Amazon. In Brazil, the world’s first single-dose dengue vaccine was launched in 2025.

amazonagency.news